Head coach Rahul Dravid heaped praise on talismanic India batter Cheteshwar Pujara as he is set to play his 100th Test match with the 2nd game between India and Australia which will start from Februar7 in New Zealand. Pujara has been a mainstay in India’s Test line-up for almost a decade as he took over the number 3 spot in the red-ball side after Dravid’s retirement.
Pujara, who has scored 7000 plus runs and 19 hundreds under his belt, is set to become the 13th Indian cricketer to play 100tg Tests.
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Dravid talked about resilience and longevity while referring to Pujara on achieving the massive feat which he himself achieved during his playing days.
“It is a big achievement for any player. Yes, you need talent but you need lot of other things. It’s a reflection of your longevity and many other things. Your fitness, your resilience, ability to handle success and failure,” Dravid, who has second highest number of Test caps for India (164), said on Wednesday.
When a player is around for a decade and a half at the highest level, he faces a lot of questions on and off the field and Dravid feels that the man from Rajkot has handled them with aplomb.
“When you play 100 games, it’s not possible that you haven’t seen ups and downs. You need to clear obstacles and bear the pain when you are down and play different kinds of bowling, various questions are asked on and off the field.
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“To play 100 Tests, you need minimum 10 years and he has played for 13-14 years. It is a tribute to his skill which is there but so many other things are also there,” the coach said.
Often it is said that rather than the outside world’s perception, it is more important to know what the dressing room feels about a person.
Dravid emphasized on Pujara’s contribution towards India’s red-ball success in the past decade and said the whole team is looking forward to celebrating the mega moment with him.
“He is a very popular player. We are all so happy that he has got this opportunity to pay 100 Tests and he will do well in future also not just this game.
“In the last 10 years, Cheteshwar Pujara has played some very important knocks for the country which has won us matches and series. We are happy to celebrate this moment with him,” the coach added.
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